Patriots Deliver When It Matters

Six days after taking a week off, the New England Patriots earned one.

Fresh off a humiliating loss at feeble Miami, the defending Super Bowl champions posted a 23-7 victory Sunday over the New York Jets to lock up a first-round bye in the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 2-seeded team.

“We knew what was at stake,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “Coach [Bill] Belichick let us know right away. The first thing he said to us this week was, ‘We win, we get a bye.’ He kept the heat on all week.”

Actually, it’s more like two byes for the Patriots (13-2), who finish the regular season at home against lowly San Francisco.

The Jets, meanwhile, said bye-bye to a prime opportunity against a New England team which had looked very vulnerable in recent weeks. New York (10-5) had a modest 279 yards of total offense against a defense that surrendered 478 to Cincinnati two weeks ago and 12 points in the last four minutes against the Dolphins.

“You feel sorry for anybody who paid to watch this,” Jet running back Curtis Martin said. He later added: “I didn’t see one area where we performed well. Like you say, ‘What was the problem today?’ Everything was the problem.”

Martin, who began his career with the Patriots, had a season-low 33 yards in 13 carries. In his last seven games against his former team, he has had only one 100-yard rushing game and no touchdowns.

Unable to shake the reputation of chokers against the AFC elite, the Jets are 0-3 against New England and Pittsburgh this season. Fans booed them in their home finale and streamed for the exits as early as the third quarter. New York must win at St. Louis on Sunday to be assured of a wild-card berth.

“We wanted to perform well, especially because this was our last home game of the season,” Martin said. “Even getting to the postseason, all of our games will probably be away. So we wanted to come out and perform well and we just laid an egg. We’ve got to get ourselves together because St. Louis isn’t going to lay down for us. That’s going to be a tough game, man. If they watch this film, they’ve got to be licking their chops.”

Brady understands the importance of bouncing back. He was coming off what might have been the worst game of his career, a four-interception stinker against the Dolphins that had some people questioning whether the two-time Super Bowl MVP was beginning to lose his touch.

He rebounded by throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, completing 21 of 32 passes and directing three scoring drives in the decisive second quarter.

“Tom’s one of the best and most consistent football players I’ve known,” Belichick said. “There isn’t anyone I’d want more than him.”

Jet quarterback Chad Pennington berated reporters last week for suggesting he plays poorly against the toughest opponents. He failed to make a strong case for his defense Sunday, committing three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble) and often missing open receivers.

The Jets crossed into Patriot territory on their first two possessions but failed to collect any points for the efforts. The first drive was thwarted by a Tedy Bruschi interception, and the second ended when Martin was tackled for a four-yard loss on third down.

New York didn’t cross midfield again until the third quarter, and didn’t score until the fourth, when Pennington connected with Santana Moss for a 15-yard touchdown pass. By that time, however, the Patriots had a 16-point lead and the game essentially on ice.

Also on ice was Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour, a key fixture in the Patriot scheme. He suffered a leg injury in the third quarter and left the game. He didn’t talk afterward and the severity of his injury is unknown.

But New England’s defense has overcome lots of hurdles this season. The Patriots have used six different starting cornerbacks this season, which, according to STATS Inc., ties them for most in the league with San Francisco and Chicago.

“If you had told me that before the season,” safety Rodney Harrison said, “I wouldn’t have thought we’d have much success at all.

“But our coaches have done a great job of scheming and working with what we have.”

Wounded pride has something to do with that success too, he said. And that was a big issue after the 29-28 loss at Miami.

“All the guys were embarrassed, ticked off, frustrated,” Harrison said. “You just can’t blow games like that heading into the playoffs.”

As for the Jets?

“We like to do things the hard way and leave people on the edge of their seats,” backup running back Lamont Jordan said. “But we started off with a very promising season, and now we’re right back where everyone expected us to be:

“Vying for our lives.”